India Leads Global Efforts for Inclusive Disaster Risk Management, Emphasizing Women’s Leadership
In a world grappling with geophysical hazards and extreme climate events, international cooperation on disaster risk management has become paramount. Acknowledging this urgency, India has taken a significant stride by establishing a G20 Disaster Risk Reduction Working Group (DRRWG) during its G20 Presidency. This move aims to bring together the world’s largest economies to tackle global resilience to disasters and climate risks.
2023 holds immense importance as it marks the culmination of the midpoint for the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030. This framework, adopted by 187 nations in 2015, aligns disaster risk reduction with the Sustainable Development Goals. Under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has prioritized women’s leadership in disaster risk management and implemented gender-responsive measures. For instance, joint registration of post-disaster reconstruction homes now includes the names of both male and female heads of families.
India’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has taken a proactive step by initiating the Aapada Mitra scheme. This scheme strives to train and mobilize one lakh citizen volunteer disaster responders throughout the country, with a substantial representation of women. The G20 DRRWG has also echoed these inclusive and gender-responsive approaches, ensuring diverse perspectives are taken into account when planning international cooperation in disaster risk management.
The role of women in disaster risk reduction is pivotal, given their ability to fortify local resilience while shouldering higher vulnerability. In coastal communities like India’s Sundarbans region, women have spearheaded efforts to restore and sustain mangroves, which provide protection against cyclones. Their contributions extend to climate change mitigation as these mangroves also sustain local livelihoods and food security.
Despite these valiant efforts, women often find themselves at the intersection of disaster and climate risks due to prevailing gender norms. For instance, increased droughts intensify women’s care responsibilities and hinder their livelihoods as they have to venture farther to collect water. Additionally, their limited ownership of assets leaves them disadvantaged in terms of risk insurance and post-disaster compensation. Moreover, women are at a higher risk of experiencing gender-based violence after disasters.
The G20 Indian Presidency’s emphasis on women-led development has inspired other countries to allocate resources for inclusive disaster risk reduction. To effectively leverage these resources, it is crucial to invest in sex, age, and disability-disaggregated data collection, as well as gender-responsive socioeconomic assessments. By empowering women at the grassroots level to lead these efforts, not only will data collection improve, but comprehensive information about local risks and resilience will be obtained.
Furthermore, it is imperative to accelerate investments in initiatives led by women and women’s collectives. Simultaneously, establishing institutional mechanisms that facilitate women’s participation in decision-making at all levels is vital for transforming local sustainable development processes and strengthening gender equality.
Through its proactive initiatives and emphasis on women’s leadership in disaster risk management, India is spearheading global efforts for inclusive resilience. As timely action is crucial to adapt and mitigate the impact of disasters and climate risks, collaboration among nations becomes paramount. By working together, countries can strive towards a safer and more resilient future for all.
